DAR AL ISLAM - KUWAIT: PRINCE CHARLES, PALE BLUE SOCKS AND HIS INTEREST IN ISLAM

Charles' pale blue socks in Kuwait's largest mosque

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall toured Kuwait's largest mosque on Wednesday, using the occasion to discuss interfaith issues with religious leaders from the Gulf state.

Charles and Camilla were taken on a detailed 40-minute walkabout inside the impressive building during the second day of their visit to the Arab peninsula.

The royal couple arrived at the Grand Mosque with the customary entourage of security guards and other officials which are part of foreign tours, and paused briefly to remove their shoes before entering the building.

The Duchess, who wore a cream jacket with white trousers, stepped barefoot into the mosque and covered her head with a white scarf, while the Prince was spotted wearing pale blue socks. They both posed briefly for a picture, sitting in a large and lavishly furnished reception area, before the tour began.

Charles has a long held interest in Islamic traditions and has visited a number of mosques across the world. He appeared impressed as he looked around the vast prayer hall, which can hold 10,000 male worshippers.

The religious building has a 141 feet (43 metres) high dome and, as the royal couple walked underneath it, their guide, Mohammed al Weteb, told them its interior surface was decorated with the "Asma al-hosna" - the 99 names of god.

The guide joked with the Duchess and the Prince when he told them that the prayer area for the women was separate from the men, in a first-floor room which overlooks the prayer hall.

He told them: "The women, they pray above us and they can see us and keep an eye on us, but we can't see them."

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